This teaching job has all but consumed me. I'm facing two brand new challenges in teaching at this school: following a strict curriculum and working in a school that serves an inner-city, underserved population of kids. I spend 75% of my time dealing with behavior issues and picking up the slack where parents have failed to do their jobs. ... ( Read more... )

I do not want to live a life that is forced. I do not want the things in my life to exist only due to the fact I have forced them to exist. I also do not want the things that do not exist to be so because I have forced them to not be present.

Then again, I don't want to be a passive bystander.

Right now, I know this much: I need sleep.

Todd is reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy right now and he wants me to be reading it simultaneously so he has someone to talk to about it. I'm all for a new read, but since this one hit Oprah's list, all 390* library copies are on hold, checked out, or in transit for the next 3 years it seems. I know I could just go buy it, but I look at the ( Read more... )

I desperately need a bookshelf so I can convert my storage room into an office/guestroom, as it was intended to be. I've been looking on Craigslist for weeks and I don't know what I expect to find for less than 30 bucks. It should not matter so much to me, but...seemingly, it does. I just need somewhere to organize my crap. That's all. The floor ( Read more... )

Yesterday's interview was the best I've ever had. I was surrounded by four amazing black women who were so welcoming and giving, I valued every moment I had with them. At the end of the interview, they were gushing with compliments and the Principal even said, "You have a great deal of wisdom." I'm sure I blushed. Then I asked if there is a ( Read more... )

When I gave up my teaching contract in Oakland, I knew it would be a rough ride. But here we are, a week and a half into the school year and I didn't think I'd be empty-handed. But I am and I'm finding ways to deal. Yesterday's realization that I'd have a chance at a Seattle contract was a happy one. Today, in the midst of looking over ( Read more... )

Today, Lulu is feeling better. She still coughs like she's trying to hack up her throat lining, but her energy seems to be back. She is such a cuddle bunny, it's hard to tell if she's just being a snuggler or if she's feeling under the weather. I think she's on her way up, though. I hope so. I hate it when she feels badly and I can't do a ( Read more... )

I'm so sick right now. It's not "runny nose, fever" kind of sick. It's "there is a sword fight going on in my stomach (or a Ginsu knife commercial) and if I eat I'll surely puke again" kind of sick. No matter how I lay, I can't get comfortable, and I am sure that at any moment, I'll have to purge from either end (SEXY). My tummy hasn't been this ( Read more... )

Seattle Peeps: I'm looking for a metal bed frame for my queen bed. Do you know of anyone who wants to get rid of one? I don't want to pay more than 10 bucks for it, but I'm hopeful someone just has one sitting around and wants to get rid of it. I need to make some extra storage space and I think raising my mattress and box spring off the floor ( Read more... )

I subbed for Todd's Kindergarten class yesterday while he took a day to recoup from my move on Sunday (ha! I got to recoup today so it was all good). Anyway, I love any day that starts with kids cheering my name and dancing around with their arms in the air. That classroom is my #1 fanclub for sure ( Read more... )